Adam und Eva 1923

Here's a print of Adam and Eve by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, made with etching. I love the nervous energy of the lines, so raw and full of doubt. I imagine Kirchner working on the plate, scratching away with his needle, unsure of what he’s doing, driven by some inner urge. Maybe he’s thinking about the story of the Fall, and how heavy it is. Those lines digging into the metal, searching, questioning the world around him. Eve looks haunted by a guilty conscience, and Adam seems frozen in place. His hunched figure is really interesting because he almost merges with the earth. The more you look the more it falls apart, but somehow it all holds together. It reminds me of other prints by German Expressionists like Käthe Kollwitz who captured the harsh realities of life in their work. All these artists were in conversation with each other! Isn’t it wild to think of them inspiring one another like this, across time?